Bobby Hamilton Was My Favorite

07/02/2015

Jeremiah Thalheimer

Editor's Note: If you read the One Lap Around: Hot Topics column on Race Fans Forever yesterday, you would have seen that we had a question from a fan. That fan's name was Jeremiah, and since his original contact with us, he has shown an interest in joining Race Fans Forever as a contributor. This is his first submission, so please make him feel welcome!

First of all, I would like to give the good folks at Race
Fans Forever for giving me a chance to write about the sport I've always loved.
For 23 of my 27 years, I have been proud
to call myself a NASCAR fan. Growing up, Sunday afternoons were spent in front
of the TV with my parents watching the race. They pulled for Rusty Wallace
(although my mom later switched to Ricky Rudd) and I pulled for Bobby Hamilton.
Since most of you are probably wondering about my choice in drivers, sit back
and enjoy the tale of how I became the World's Biggest Bobby Hamilton Fan. During the summer of 1992, I saw an ad featuring Richard
Petty and decided that I wanted to watch NASCAR. After watching that summer's race at Daytona,
my parents and I became NASCAR fans, and my driver of choice was none other
than King Richard Petty. Unfortunately,
as I'm sure most of you know, the end of 1992 brought about the King's
retirement and with it a newly minted NASCAR fan with no driver to root for.
Therefore, I decided that I would pull for whoever replaced the King. Over the
next few seasons, my allegiances shift as Rick Wilson, Wally Dallenbach, John
Andretti, and finally Bobby Hamilton each took turns piloting the King's famous
colors.

In 1995, for some reason things felt different. Bobby was
never dominant but could still pull of decent finishes. I attended the season
finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway and jumped for joy as Bobby led laps early on.
Little did I know this would be the only time I would get to witness Bobby lead
laps in person. The next season, the finishes improved and he lead more
laps, but it seemed as if he would never win. Finally, in the season's
next-to-last race at Phoenix, Bobby Hamilton became a first time and winner and
one young fan was quite ecstatic. It was the first time Richard Petty's iconic
colors had visited victory lane in 12 years, but honestly, I didn't care. All
that mattered to me was that a driver I rooted for was a NASCAR winner. Things didn't go so well in 1997, and it was announced
midway through the season that Bobby would depart Petty Enterprises for a new
team. I know had a dilemma: do I stick with the King or do I stick with Bobby?
Truthfully, I never considered anything other than sticking with Bobby. Maybe
it's because I like being unique. After all, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and
Rusty Wallace all had their legions of fans, and Bobby had, well, me. Maybe it’s
because I struggled to fit in growing up and saw Bobby struggling to fit in as
well. Maybe it's because I could relate to not necessarily being the best at
something but wanting so bad to be the best. Either way, I was a Bobby Hamilton
fan. I continued to root for Bobby through his final Cup season
in 2002. Through the highs and the lows (and believe me, there were many more
lows), I was a Bobby Hamilton fan. Once Bobby departed for the truck series, I
began rooting for Tony Stewart. As much as I've enjoyed rooting for Smoke for
over a decade, there is something special about those 8 seasons I spent as a
Bobby Hamilton fan. Maybe it was the anticipation I felt every season when
Daytona rolled around hoping that this would finally be the year Bobby enjoyed
that elusive breakout season. It never came, but I always remained optimistic.
Maybe it was the joy I got out of being one of the only fans at the track
sporting Bobby Hamilton gear and emptying my wallet at his souvenir rig. Maybe
since he didn't have a household name, it was the honor I got from telling
people who weren't NASCAR fans just who Bobby Hamilton was. Maybe since Bobby
was a short track specialist, it was the extra excitement I felt as NASCAR made
its twice yearly trips to Martinsville, Bristol, and Richmond knowing that
these were Bobby's best chances to score a win. Maybe it was the rarity of the
wins that made Bobby's four trips to Victory Lane that much more special and the
fact that each time he won, I felt as if I was right there celebrating with
him. Either way, I'm proud to say that I was a Bobby Hamilton fan.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Race Fans Forever are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of Race Fans Forever. Race Fans Forever is not affiliated with NASCAR or any other motorsports sanctioning body in any form..